Introduction Molecular imaging aims to detect the presence and spatial distribution of specific biomarkers in tissue. However, for many diseases the detection of these biomarkers must be done at very low concentrations to maximize diagnostic and prognostic value. Due to lack of sensitivity in conventional MRI techniques, exogenous contrast agents (e.g. SPIO, PARACEST) are being widely studied t...

A new strategy for monovalently displaying small molecules on phage surfaces was developed and applied to high throughput screening for molecules with high binding affinity to the target protein. Peptidyl carrier protein (PCP) excised from nonribosomal peptide synthetase was monovalently displayed on the surface of M13 phage as pIII fusion proteins. Small molecules of diverse structures were co...

BACKGROUND The autoimmune disease known as Idiopathic (immune thrombocytopenic purpura thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is clinically defined by a low numbers of platelets in the circulation blood. This study aimed to isolate autoantibodies made against the platelet glycoproteins using platelets from healthy volunteers, to determine their specificity and further elucidate their effects on platele...

A DNA fragment containing gene VII of bacteriophage M13 has been transcribed and the nucleotide sequence of this 169-nucleotides long transcript was determined by RNA sequencing methods. Additionally, the nucleotide sequence of this gene and parts of its neighbouring genes V and VIII has been determined by the dimethylsulphate-hydrazine technique. The reading frame of gene VII has been establis...

An improved portable detector for biological compounds, the chemiluminescence multichannel immunosensor (CL-MADAG), has been developed and characterised. The device is based on a capillary ELISA technique in combination with a miniaturised fluidics system and uses chemiluminescence as the detection principle. The fluidics system construction allows three chemiluminescence immunoassays to be per...

A detection method that combines electric field-assisted virus capture on antibody-decorated surfaces with the "fingerprinting" capabilities of micro-Raman spectroscopy is demonstrated for the case of M13 virus in water. The proof-of-principle surface mapping of model bioparticles (protein coated polystyrene spheres) captured by an AC electric field between planar microelectrodes is presented w...

Cloning of DNA fragments in phage M13 is a routine procedure in DNA sequence determination. A simple procedure for the determination of DNA fragment orientation has been described earlier (1). Here we introduce a modification of this procedure which allows the simultaneous determination of DNA fragment orientation and size. Procedure: Single-stranded M13 DNAs (1, about lpg) were mixed in 5ul of...

A facile synthetic route was developed to make Au nanowires (NWs) from surfactant-mediated bio-mineralization of a genetically engineered M13 phage with specific Au binding peptides. From the selective interaction between Au binding M13 phage and Au ions in aqueous solution, Au NWs with uniform diameter were synthesized at room temperature with yields greater than 98 % without the need for size...

The following paper examines a time-efficient method for detecting biological warfare agents (BWAs). The method is based on a system of a Love-wave immunosensor combined with a microfluidic chip which detects BWA samples in a dynamic mode. In this way a continuous flow-through of the sample is created, promoting the reaction between antigen and antibody and allowing a fast detection of the BWAs...